Damien Hirst has taken over the entire Château La Coste with major exhibition The Light That Shines.
Covering the estate’s vast 500 acres, the exhibit graces all five pavilions, each crafted by architectural luminaries including Renzo Piano, Oscar Niemeyer, and Richard Rogers. Displaying approximately 90 artworks, it unveils unseen pieces alongside Hirst’s renowned series, such as his striking Natural History collection featuring preserved animals like cows, birds, and sharks.
It’s beyond brilliant what Paddy McKillen has achieved at Château La Coste which is such a wonderful and unique place. I am thrilled and excited to be the first artist to do a takeover show and have my work exhibited across the whole estate, particularly in the mega pavilions designed by Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer and Richard Rogers. Paddy McKillen is a genius and great friend and wonderful human and he makes the most amazing places for people to be. I’m so happy to be a part of Paddy’s vision.
Damien Hirst
Delving into the complex realms of beauty, religion, science, life, and death, Damien Hirst’s extensive oeuvre is showcased at the Renzo Piano Pavilion of Château La Coste. Renowned for his use of formaldehyde to preserve animal bodies, Hirst presents key pieces from his Natural History series alongside The Empress Paintings at the Richard Rogers Gallery—a mesmerizing display of red and black butterfly wings arranged in kaleidoscopic patterns.
In the Jean-Michel Wilmotte-designed Old Wine Storehouse, visitors encounter debut pieces from Hirst’s Cosmos Paintings and Meteorites and Satellites series. Inspired by Hubble Space Telescope imagery, the Cosmos Paintings simulate the vast universe on black canvases layered with paint. Satellites, crafted in bronze, evoke nostalgia while drawing from Degas’ bronze casts, and the Victorian typeface of their metal labels blends antiquity with modernity.
This magnificent show has been an idea for many years. Amid laughs and giggles, chats and cups of tea, great ideas evolved as they do when Damien is his playful self. He has planned out the show to perfection. He has conceived each element to compliment both art and architecture, all set amongst Cezanne’s Provençal landscape. His paintings and sculpture, set in our galleries and this nature will come together to create one singular masterpiece. We are proud and honored at Chateau La Coste to host Damien, his amazing team and his life’s labor. We welcome everyone to experience Damien in beautiful Provence.
Paddy McKillen, Founder, Château La Coste
Displayed in the Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium are sculptures and lightboxes from Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable, a series first exhibited in 2017 at Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Concurrently, the artist unveils his latest series, The Secret Gardens Paintings, at the Bastide Gallery. These vibrant depictions of flowers, presented in triptychs and single-panel paintings, incorporate abstract splatters of bright paint, echoing a rich tradition of garden imagery in art. Alongside pavilion showcases, select outdoor sculptures will grace the estate, including installations at Frank Gehry’s Music Pavilion and the Tadao Ando Art Centre.
Damien Hirst, The Light That Shines, 2nd March -23rd June 2024, Château La Coste
About the artist
Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, England, and lives and works in London and Devon, England. Collections include the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, Naples, Italy; Museum Brandhorst, Munich; Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; Tate, London; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Scotland; National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Art Institute of Chicago; The Broad, Los Angeles; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan. Exhibitions include Cornucopia, Oceanographic Museum of Monaco (2010); Tate Modern, London (2012); Relics, Qatar Museums Authority, Al Riwaq (2013); Signification (Hope, Immortality and Death in Paris, Now and Then), Deyrolle, Paris (2014); Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (2015); The Last Supper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2016); Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable, Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, Venice (2017); Damien Hirst at Houghton Hall: Colour Space Paintings and Outdoor Sculptures, Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England (2019); Mental Escapology, St. Moritz, Switzerland (2021); Cherry Blossoms, Fondation Cartier, Paris (2021); and Archaeology Now, Galleria Borghese, Rome (2021). Hirst received the Turner Prize in 1995.
